The New World of Crises and Crisis Management: Implications for Policymaking and Research
Abstract
In recent years, we have witnessed a series of spectacular crises and disasters: 9/11, Madrid and London, the Asian tsunami, the Mumbai attacks, the implosion of the financial system—the world of crises and disasters seems to be changing. This special issue explores how these crises and disasters are changing and what governments can do to prepare. This opening article defines critical concepts, sketches a theoretical perspective, offers key research findings, and introduces the contributions to the special issue.
References
-
‘t Hart, P. (1993). Symbols, rituals and power: The lost dimensions of crisis management.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 1(1), 36–50.
10.1111/j.1468-5973.1993.tb00005.x Google Scholar
- ‘t Hart, P., Rosenthal, U., & Kouzmin, A. (1993). Crisis decision making: The centralization thesis revisited. Administration and Society, 25(1), 12–45.
- ‘t Hart, P. (1994). Groupthink in government: A study of small groups and policy failure. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Albrow, M. (1996). The global age. Cambridge: Polity.
- Baer, M., Heron, K., Morton, O., & Ratliff, E. (2005). Safe: The race to protect ourselves in a newly dangerous world. New York: HarperCollins.
- Birkland, T. (2006). Lessons of disaster: Policy change after catastrophic events. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
-
Boin, A.,
‘t Hart, P.,
Stern, E., & Sundelius, B. (2005). The politics of crisis management: Public leadership under pressure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/CBO9780511490880 Google Scholar
-
Boin, A.,
McConnell, A., & ‘t Hart, P. (Eds.) (2008). Governing after crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
10.1017/CBO9780511756122 Google Scholar
- Boin, A., & Schulman, P. (2008). Assessing NASA's safety culture: The limits and possibilities of high-reliability theory. Public Administration Review, 68(6), 1050–1062.
- Brecher, M. (1993). Crises in world politics: Theory and reality. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
- Castells, M. (1996). The rise of the network society. Oxford: Blackwell.
- Clarke, L. (1999). Mission improbable: Using fantasy documents to tame disaster. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Dekker, S., & Hansén, D. (2004). Learning under pressure: The effects of politicization on organizational learning in public bureaucracies. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 14, 211–230.
- Dror, Y. (1986). Policymaking under adversity. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
- Dynes, R., & Aguirre, B. E. (1979). Organizational adaptation to crises: Mechanisms of coordination and structural change. Disasters, 3, 71–74.
- Flin, R. (1996). Sitting in the hot seat: Leaders and teams for critical incident management. Chicester: John Wiley.
- Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Garreau, J. (2005). Radical evolution: The promise and peril of enhancing our minds, our bodies—And what it means to be human. New York: Random House.
- Hargrove, E. C., & Glidewell, J. C. (Eds.) (1990). Impossible jobs in public management. Lawrence, KS: Kansas University Press.
- Janis, I. L. (1989). Crucial decisions: Leadership in policymaking and crisis management. New York: The Free Press.
-
Kam, E. (1988). Surprise attack. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
10.4159/harvard.9780674493957 Google Scholar
- Keeler, J. T. S. (1993). Opening the window for reform: Mandates, crises and extraordinary policymaking. Comparative Political Studies, 25(4), 433–486.
- Kendra, J., & Wachtendorf, T. (2003). Elements of community resilience in the World Trade Center attack: Reconstituting New York City's emergency operations center. Disasters, 27(1), 37–53.
- Kettl, D. F. (2003). System under stress: Homeland security and American politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
- Kingdon, J. W. (1995). Agendas, alternatives and public policies ( 2nd ed.). New York: HarpersCollins.
- Klein, G. (2001). Sources of power: How people make decisions ( 7th ed.). London: The MIT Press.
-
Lagadec, P. (1997). Learning processes for crisis management in complex organizations.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 5, 24–31.
10.1111/1468-5973.00034 Google Scholar
-
LaPorte, T. R. (1996). High reliability organizations: Unlikely, demanding, and at risk.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 4, 60–71.
10.1111/j.1468-5973.1996.tb00078.x Google Scholar
- Laqueur, W. (2003). No end to war: Terrorism in the twenty-first century. New York: Continuum.
-
Missiroli, A. (2006). Disasters past and present: Challenges for the EU.
Journal of European Integration, 28(5), 423–436.
10.1080/07036330600979607 Google Scholar
- OECD. (2003). Emerging risks in the 21st century: An agenda for action. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Paton, D., & Johnston, D. (Eds.) (2006). Disaster resilience: An integrated approach. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
- Perrow, C. (1999). Normal accidents: Living with high-risk technologies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
-
Posner, R. (2004). Catastrophe: Risk and response. New York: Oxford University Press.
10.1093/oso/9780195178135.001.0001 Google Scholar
-
Quarantelli, E. L.,
Lagadec, P., & Boin, A. (2006). A heuristic approach to future disasters and crises: New, old and in-between types. In
H. Rodriguez,
E. L. Quarantelli, & R. Dynes (Eds.), Handbook of disaster research (pp.
16–41). New York: Springer.
10.1007/978-0-387-32353-4_2 Google Scholar
- Robb, J. (2007). Brave new war: The next stage of terrorism and the end of globalization. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
-
Roe, E., & Schulman, P. (2008). High reliability management: Operating on the edge. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
10.1515/9781503627123 Google Scholar
- Rosenthal, U., Boin, A., & Comfort, L. K. (Eds.) (2001). Managing crises: Threats, dilemmas, opportunities. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers.
- Rosenthal, U., Charles, M. T., & ‘t Hart, P. (Eds.) (1989). Coping with crises: The management of disasters, riots and terrorism. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers.
-
Snook, S. A. (2000). Friendly fire: The accidental shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over northern Iraq. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
10.1515/9781400840977 Google Scholar
- Turner, B. A. (1978). Man-made disasters. London: Wykeham.
-
Vale, L. J., & Campanella, T. J. (Eds.) (2005). The resilient city: How modern cities recover from disaster. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
10.1093/oso/9780195175844.001.0001 Google Scholar
- Walker, B., & Salt, D. (2006). Resilience thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world. Washington, DC: Island Press.
- Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2001). Managing the unexpected: Assuring high performance in an age of complexity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Wildavsky, A. B. (1988). Searching for safety. New Brunswick: Transaction.
- Wilensky, H. L. (1967). Organizational intelligence: Knowledge and policy in government and industry. New York: The Free Press.
- Wilson, J. Q. (1989). Bureaucracy: What government agencies do and why they do it. New York: Basic Books.